WJ Kuhn Automotive Center

Review: My car broke down while I was traveling. I took my car to [redacted] to have it repaired and dropped it off on a Friday (July 3, 2015) afternoon right before they closed. When I called on Monday (July 5, 2015) morning during their business hours, I was told that they would look at the car on Tuesday (July 6) and let me know about what the repairs would be.

I did not hear anything on Tuesday. I called Tuesday early evening and they said they would look at the car on Wednesday (July 7). Wednesday came and I still did not hear anything so I called them again in the early evening. They informed me that they would look at the car on Thursday (July 8).

When they called me on Thursday, they said that the timing belt broke and that the car could have suffered internal engine damage, but they wouldn't be able to tell until they started the repair, and even then, they said that the car might have more damage they won't be able to see. I asked when they would have the car ready and they said Monday (July 13) or Tuesday (July 14). I authorized them to fix the timing belt only. They said that they would call if they found any other damage, like to the water pump or any other internal damage.

Monday and Tuesday came with no word about the car. I called them on Wednesday (July 15) morning and they said that the car was slotted to be looked on Thursday (July 16). I called on Thursday morning and they said that the car would be ready Friday if there was no other internal engine damage.

[redacted] called back an hour later and said that the car had suffered engine damage, specifically, that two pistons broke and the entire engine "was junk" and that the car was not worth repairing. When my husband inquired about local auto salvage businesses, [redacted] offered to take possession of the car in exchange for their services; saying that it was worth "maybe $100.00". My husband said no and that he would make his own arrangements. He traveled up to [redacted] to settle the bill and to work out where to tow the car. When he inspected our car in their parking lot, he noticed that the engine wasn't even put back together and that bits and pieces of the engine were lying in the trunk. My husband paid for the bill, which was $70.00 for a tow and $158.00 for two hours labor.

He then paid for another tow to take the car to different repair facility—Girard's Auto Service. The second repair facility looked at the car and said that belts were missing, the initial diagnosis of the repair that [redacted] gave was wrong, and also noted that the cost of labor was significantly high for the quality of service that [redacted] had put into the "repair." My husband re-iterated that a technician from [redacted] called and said that two pistons were broke and the engine was junk and would have to be re-built. The mechanic at Girard's said that he had never heard of engine damage occurring to our particular engine due to timing belt failure.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund on the $158.00 charge of two hour labor.

Business

Response:

Thank you for bringing this complaint to our attention. We acknowledge that we made some mistakes and we have sent a letter of apology along with a full refund for the amount charged to the customer.